Here's The Grain You Should Eat When You Have An Upset Stomach

Quick relief is what we seek when we're experiencing a tummy ache. While an upset stomach could be symptomatic of something greater, often it's the result of a bug or something we ate, perhaps the weather has thrown us off. Most of the time, if we ride it out, it will go away on its own. This said, if we can somehow speed up this eventual departure, let's do that.

Experts seem to be in agreement that there's really no one cure for an upset stomach, which makes sense since there are many possibilities for a stomach ache. For most of us though, since stomach pain or discomfort is thankfully infrequent, we can probably do a pretty good job of pinpointing what the cause could be: breakfast, lunch, dinner, the season.

Many of us may already have various over-the-counter remedies on hand for these belly-ache occasions. However, for those of us who don't, or prefer natural remedies, then head to the pantry and/or fridge to see what's available for quick, DIY stomach relief. Experts say a half cup of white grain rice can really hit the spot (per Real Simple).

As Health magazine points out, rice is the "r" of the "brat(t)" diet, a longtime homemade stomach reliever consisting of "b" for bananas, "r" for rice, "a" for applesauce, and "t" for toast. While described as a "dream team," each of these foods can work on its own, and on many remedy lists, rice takes the top spot. "You want easy-to-digest food. It's best to avoid anything high in fiber or fat, and to stick with simple carbohydrates... that the body can break down easily," dietician Valerie Goldberg advised for Women's Health. Sounds a lot like rice.

WebMD emphasizes that plain white rice is the grain of choice. While other grain types like wild, brown, and black, offer more nutritional benefits, the goal here is to digest food easily and in this case, white rice is the way to go. The reason why eating rice can help relieve stomach aches and mitigate symptoms like vomiting or diarrhea, is basically, it provides bulk, which in turn "can help absorb some of the fluid in the gut," Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD, explained to Real Simple. The outlet adds that "bland foods, containing simple sugars and starches with low acidity, are less likely to cause more distress."

And finally, to the "brat" diet, tack on a "t" for tea if you like. When experiencing an upset stomach, it's important to stay hydrated, so lots of water and maybe some soothing tea.